


Best Friends Are Like Wives

by rhodrymavelyne



Series: A Hopeless Situation [4]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-29
Updated: 2016-04-29
Packaged: 2018-06-05 07:29:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6695428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhodrymavelyne/pseuds/rhodrymavelyne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part 4 of 'A Hopeless Situation'. Willow tries to process what Scott told in the last chapter. The company isn't helping.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Best Friends Are Like Wives

**Author's Note:**

> At long last, I bring you the 4th part of 'A Hopeless Situation'. Caught between publications, edits, and deadlines, I haven't had a lot of time this month. Sandy Cooper is the character Vampire Willow bit in 'Doppelgangland'. I'm fleshing her out a bit for this story. You may remember Sheila from 'School Hard'? :)=
> 
> 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' doesn't belong to me. The characters and the setting are borrowing my imagination to act out a subplot, which never happened in the actual TV series. :)

Willow stared at Scott’s retreating back. She wasn’t really seeing it, or him. His words kept repeating themselves in her head. 

Just how well do you know your best friend? How much does she hide from you?

Buffy hid things she was ashamed of. Like Angel. She’d hid his return from everyone else.

Yes, Angel! The vampire she was in love with. The male vampire she was in love with, still, even though she’d tried to move on with Scott. Scott was just being spiteful, looking for reasons why Buffy hadn’t been into him. Of all the dumb reasons to come up with!

Was it really dumb? Buffy was hanging around a lot with Faith. Look at the way the two of them had linked arms, as Buffy said, “Really, we’re just good friends.” 

Willow had thought it was a joke, or a way to change to subject. What if it had been true?

A girl was talking to her. Willow wasn’t sure how long she’d been talking.

“Sorry, what were you saying?” Willow asked. She tried to focus on the person speaking. Yes, it was a girl. Sort of pretty, in an ordinary way. Her eyes were very bright, as she looked at Willow. As if Willow’s reaction was important. 

“The same thing you just said,” the girl said, flushing a bit. “I’m sorry about Scott.” She looked away. “I think he’s holding a bit of a grudge about Buffy cheating on him.”

“She wasn’t cheating on him!” Willow said hotly. The girl’s flush grew. “She wouldn’t!”

“Are you sure?” Sheila asked. Willow wasn’t sure when she’d appeared. She was standing, in the bright daylight of the hall, a dark figure in her tight black shirt and ripped pants. She and Faith looked like they could have been part of the same gang, Willow thought sourly. Only Sheila wasn’t part of Faith’s gang, not really, even if they were both bad girl-ish. Buffy was the only one, who was truly Faith’s kind. 

Stop that, brain! Don’t even go there! Willow scolded herself, even as she trembled inwardly.

“I mean, come on!” Sheila said, as usual oblivious to tact, or whether it was her business. “This is Buffy we’re talking about.”

“Yes, it’s Buffy!” Willow said, trying to get her temper in control. No use starting a fight with the girl who could stab you with a trowl. Or clippers. Whatever pointy object Sheila fancied. “I know her better than anyone! Do you think she could have hidden a secret like this from me?”

“It’s a big secret, though,” Sandy said. Once more, she wasn’t quite meeting Willow’s eyes. “Letting anyone know you like another girl, even someone close to you, well, it’s difficult.” She stared into Sheila’s smirking face. “I mean, it’s got to be difficult.” 

“I’ll say,” Sheila said. Her smirk grew. “I mean, Buffy’s the only chick, who gave me any competition as the baddest girl in the school. Being a dyke on top of it is almost cliche.”

“Don’t call her a dyke!” Willow snapped. Forgotten was her vow not to antagonize the girl who liked sharp objects. “She’s not a dyke, anymore than I am!”

Without thinking about it, she’d taken a step forward. Wonderful, the part of her brain which still thought thought. I’m giving Sheila an excuse to take a swing at me. Or bring out something pointy.

Fortunately, Sheila didn’t do, either. She took a step back and raised her hands.

“Well, maybe Oz should watch out, in case he finds himself in the same position as Scott,” Sheila said, smirking all the way. “Take it from me. Best friends are like wives. They’re the last to know, when there’s ass on the side.”

With that parting shot, Sheila turned her back and sauntered away.

“Words,” Sandy said, watching her go. “I didn’t expect her to use words. They’ve never been her weapon of choice.” Out of the corner of her eye, she still watched Willow, though. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her, since last year. I wonder what happened to her?”

Willow wasn’t listening. She stared in Sheila’s direction, not really seeing the departing delinquent. The words, however, were ringing, along with Scott’s, in her mind.

Best friends are like wives. They’re the last to know, when there’s ass on the side.

Just how well do you know your best friend?

“I’ve got to go,” Willow mumbled. She was vaguely aware someone was here, looking at her. “I’ve got to…” She couldn’t finish the sentence. She backed away from whoever was speaking, headed somewhere. She couldn’t decide where. 

Sandy watched her go, with sad eyes. “Well, at least, I managed a conversation with you,” she said to the empty space, where Willow had been. “Even if you didn’t know it was me.”


End file.
